Who was behind the Firefly’s “Hey B*#%h. I’m Here!” ad?

firefly-heyB

(Marketingmagazine.com.my) – By: Malati Siniah

Yesterday MARKETING reported on Firefly’s latest promotional ad which sparked negative social chatter online.

The ad which ran on Firefly’s social media platforms and website featured a man in a suit going on holiday with the bold copy “Hey B*#%h. I’m Here!”.

Responding to MARKETING’s queries on the campaign Firefly shared that the brand’s internal communications department handles all of its promotional campaigns.

The statement from Firefly read:

“It is purely from a creative and marketing gimmick perspective. Moreover, we have included an explanation that ‘b#$%h’ in this context means the ‘beach’ and we mean no harm.”

Yesterday the brand’s shared the explanation above on the post responding to negative Facebook commenters.

Some of those in ad land, however, were not too impressed with Firefly’s move.

Timothy Johnson, Senior VP of Marketing, INTI International University & Colleges shared, “I don’t think Firefly has a brand identity that allows it to talk in such a manner. Seems to be a wannabe Scoot.”

To Woei Hern Chan, Executive Creative Director at ensemble IPG Mediabrands the brand was better off using the word ‘beach’ in its main copy or even ‘beach please’.

“’Phuket I’ll go’ from Air Asia was much better.” Woei Hern Chan shared.

phuketAir Asia’s promotional ad in 2008 that ran in Australia (Picture from: tastythailand.com)


HANDO speaker

The 5th Malaysian Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) Conference is a full day journey into the minds of some of the sharpest and most inspiring minds in the business.

The market is in a state of flux. Media fragmentation has gone wild. Digital is exciting but also a minefield if handled wrong. Marketers need stamina, focus and a scalable approach to strategies. ROI has never been more confusing.

Hear from these dynamic and feisty brand leaders on how they are facing the New Realities:

• Albern Murty – CEO, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
• Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz – MD & CEO, Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad
• Sulin Lau – Head of Marketing Services, Maxis
• Cyril Dhenaut – Head of Marketing, KFit
• Timothy Johnson – Senior VP of Marketing, INTI International University & Colleges
• Eric Wong – Marketing Director, IBM Malaysia
• Srikanth Ramachandran – Executive Director, Moving Walls
• Spencer Lee – Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad
• Bala Pomaleh – CEO, IPG Mediabrands
• Rachel Lim – Co-Founder of Love, Bonito
• Edward Ling – Sales Manager, Waze Malaysia

Date: September 6th, 2016 (Tuesday)

Venue: Sime Darby Convention Centre, Jalan Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

For details, contact Ruby on 03-77262588, [email protected]

Download event PDF here


MARKETING Magazine is not responsible for the content of external sites.




Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene